The Man Who Can't Be Moved
by aneko24
Summary: The Man Who Can't Be Moved, a song by The Script, gone Twilight. Jacob's got a plan for a last shot at Bella's heart, and it involves nothing but waiting for as long as it takes. Will it be enough? BellaxJacob, no Renesmee.
1. Day One

_**Disclaimers:**_

_I'm not Sony- I don't own rights to the band._

_I'm not in The Script- I don't own the song._

_And I'm not Stephanie Meyer- I don't own Twilight._

_If I owned any of the above, I'd be rich._

_I hate disclaimers. This and the following aren't actual disclaimers but instead notes._

_The bold and italic texts at the beginning of each chapter are direct lyrics from the song. I go through all the lyrics without editing at all, which means all repetitions are original as well as the order and of course the words themselves.(If it ain't bold _and_ italics {but in the story and bold _or _italic}, it's not lyrics! It's thoughts.)_

_**Summary: **The Man Who Can't Be Moved as a Twific! Yaaay! In case you didn't read from the summary, The Man Who Can't Be Moved is a (wonderful, fantastic, amazing) song by The Script. I recommend everyone listen to the song at some point before or after or in the middle of the Twific, in part because it's kind of what the fanfic is about and may help get the plot across, and in part just 'cause it's a great song and the flow just works well between it and the story... _

_**N/B: **I actually finished this entire fanfic before publishing, so I should be able to get a chapter up every day or every other day, depending on how long editing takes (the chapters are all really short, so that shouldn't be much of a problem) and of course whether my internet connection decides to cooperate and I have the sheer time to post something..._

_Wow, long author's note. It's over now though, onto the story!!_

_~~Begins a couple hours after Bella and Edward's wedding.~~_

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**Going back to the corner**_

_**Where I first saw you.**_

_**Gonna camp in my sleeping bag,**_

_**I'm not gonna move.**_

_I'm not going to move._

_I'm not going to move._

_Maybe if I don't move, she'll come back._

_Maybe if I wait, she'll come back._

_Maybe... maybe she'll love me again..._

_Maybe I can be more than him, if I just don't move..._

Jacob Black refused to move. He refused to move from the spot where Bella Swan had first seen him. Long before she loved him, yet still after she saw Edward Cullen (Jacob refused to believe she loved him that early). Long before he left her, long before she nearly killed herself again and again for him... long before she started to love Jacob, just to leave him as soon as her beloved vampire returned.

Jake tensed at the last thought, shaking slightly as he tried not to phase from sheer, blinding anger.

He was sitting on First Beach in La Push, on the salt-bleached driftwood tree that they'd come to call their own, a year after meeting again. He had figured that the fishing trips when they were kids didn't really count, as Bella hadn't even remembered his name, so this would have been their first meeting. Jake pushed out of his mind exactly what had happened, what Bella had told him later- that she was just trying to get secrets about the Cullens out of him via excessive flirtation. And Jacob had fallen for it.

Jake shoved a clenched fist into his thigh. He was shaking again, a light vibration that could so quickly turn into a violent one, at which point he would phase. Edward Cullen, the filthy bloodsucker that Bella had fallen in love with, who'd tricked her and taken her away. And now he was probably turning her into the same thing as him– a monster. Or worse– _dead_.

The shaking increased, and Jake stuck his fist further into his leg, taking deep breaths. Edward Cullen wasn't the one waiting for her. He hadn't had to make the desperate decision for a last grab at Bella's love, to sit on the beach and wait for her, as long as necessary to change her mind. He wasn't sitting on a long-since-dead tree branch with a sleeping bag, a water bottle, and a pack of beef jerky, wondering exactly how high high tide got at this time of year. He wasn't worried about what he would eat in a day or two, when his meager supply of food ran out, or his water. He wasn't sacrificing his very nature to wait as a human would for his love.

But Bella probably didn't know what Jacob was doing for her. She was probably with Edward now, and she would look into his eyes and think that this was the man who loved her more than anyone else on the planet, and she would think that this was as good as it got, and she wouldn't think about the one waiting and waiting and wishing and wondering.

Even though he wasn't even a man, but a monster, and even though he wasn't doing anything for her now, not sacrificing anything for his love that he won so easily.

"This is pointless," Jacob said through gritted teeth. He couldn't stay calm for more than a few minutes, shaking again already, as he did every time he thought about Bella or what she was doing right now wherever that charming Edward Cullen had taken her. He'd made several decisions about exactly what waiting for Bella to change her mind had entailed.

One, he would have to stay here until she came. However long that took. Rain or shine. In sickness and in health. No matter what, he couldn't leave.

Two, he couldn't phase. Not only would that mean the pack wouldn't be able to hear his thoughts, but also it would keep him from having to go anywhere by Sam's wishes. And it was a challenge. He'd be stronger if he could resist phasing, that which would be a comfort from both his emotions and the cold once autumn really set in.

Three, he couldn't contact her. No phone calls. No emails. Bella would have to come on her own, under her own judgment and love. This act would have to mean everything rolled up into one, every message he would have left on her answering machine and every email he would have sent and every love letter. Every word with which he could have used to proclaim his love would be stated in this.

Four, if anyone was to ask why he was there, his answer would be simple- I'm waiting for someone. He had it written on a cardboard sign, 'HAVE YOU SEEN THIS GIRL?', big enough to be seen from the surf, and he'd brought a picture of the two of them, just in case someone wanted to help. He knew he'd need it for Bella to find out.

Jacob was calmer now, in going over the guidelines of his act, in submersing himself in determination rather than fury. He felt stronger at the ability to be calm. Maybe if he could just put his effort into loving Bella rather than hating Cullen, he'd be able to make it through this... Running hadn't worked, he'd discovered that after the engagement, Bella hadn't even tried to follow him. So maybe if he stayed put, she'd come to him, if he just could wait long enough.


	2. Day Two

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**Got some words on cardboard,**_

_**Got your picture in my hand,**_

_**Saying 'If you see this girl,'**_

_**'Can you tell her where I am?'**_

"I can't believe he's still there," Leah Clearwater murmured. She stood in the trees, behind where Jacob was still sitting, waiting for Bella. It had been a full day since he had announced to the pack that he was going to wait for her on First Beach, don't try to stop me. She hadn't thought he'd last a full day, gone by the time the sun went down and it got colder and winder and the tide crept in. But he was still there, and from what Billy had said, he hadn't come home that night.

"He loved her," Seth said. "Loves. Present tense. I think he's really going to wait until she comes back." Leah cast him an irritated glare; she hadn't realized she'd spoken aloud and didn't particularly like someone answering her thoughts.

"She's _not coming back_ though, Seth," Leah snapped reflexively from irritation. "She's got her bloodsucker and they're all cozied up and married and now they're off wherever it spirited her away to." Leah did not have much sympathy for the vampire girl. "She's probably already had him bite her. And then what's Jake going to do, have a vampire for a wife?"

Leah saw Jacob tense. He could hear them.

"I think she'll come back," Seth said quietly.

Leah looked at Jacob, a lone figure sitting cross-legged on a piece of driftwood at sunset. She'd seen him there with Bella, both in person and through his memories. All happy memories, which he would think about with such euphoria and love it made Leah want to puke. It was much worse, though, to see him alone.

"I sure hope so," Leah said softly, and turned back into the forest. She and Seth had a responsibility to the pack, even if Jacob had abandoned it.

* * *

_A/N:_

_Two chapters for the price of one today, even if this one is about a fourth of the length, and I think I'm going to continue posting as I was informed today that I'm going to get to see The Script preform live which makes me very, very happy...!!! My first Script concert, I don't even care that they're just opening for David Cook... _

_-turns off spaz/fangirl mode-_

_Please review! I enjoy reading your feedback and comments ^_^_

_~Aneko_


	3. Day Three

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**Some try to hand me money,**_

_**They don't understand.**_

_**I'm not broke,**_

_**I'm just a broken-hearted man.**_

"Here."

Jacob looked up from his hands, he'd taken to staring at them rather than the sun as it set over the ocean, to see Sam. He was holding a plastic bag about a foot in front of Jacob's face.

"What?" Jake said blankly. He was tired– hadn't been able to sleep last night. Or the night before that, really.

"It's food. And water. You're out," Sam said in a blunt statement of the obvious. Jacob's empty water bottle, one of the nice insulated ones, was lying on its side on the ground. His jerky wrapper had blown away a couple hours ago.

"I'm not going back to the pack," Jacob said, looking back down at his hands. Sam hadn't been supportive of him temporarily leaving the pack for the sake of a vampire's wife.

"I know," Sam said from above him. "We all know. But Bella won't come if you die from starvation, and then you'll never come back to the pack." There was no humor in his tone.

Jacob didn't reply, and Sam didn't say anything else. They both were in limbo for a moment, and then Sam just set the bag beside Jacob and walked away. Jake watched his feet stride confidently across the rocks, until he had walked out of Jake's short sight range visible while looking almost directly down. He watched the disturbed rocks for a few minutes, and life went on over the beach; ants continued crawling over the stones and a lizard scuttled across, knocking smaller rocks away. The sun set into the sea, making deep shadows appear everywhere. The sea itself, with the tide now rising, inched closer up the shore. Jacob could hear a party starting a little ways away, unsurprising given the season. Life was moving on, and now that the sun was setting on his third day, people were returning to the beach again. Jacob rested his head in his hands, breathing in and out slowly and trying to keep from feeling the crushing despair- he hadn't accomplished anything.

His stomach growled. Jake looked up, now that it was darker and the sun wasn't directly in his eyes, and picked up the plastic bag Sam had left. Couple sandwiches, bottled water, few dozen energy bars. Jacob grinned slightly- Sam knew he wasn't going anywhere, and had planned for the long haul. The tide was really coming in now, flooding the holes where the ants had been crawling moments ago. Jake put his legs up on the branch he was sitting on and leaned against the trunk of the driftwood tree, pulling a sandwich out of its Zip-Loc and folding his legs in front of him. The sleeping bag and water bottle would be relocated soon to branches right around the tree, sometime when he got up to go to the bathroom, the one time her permitted himself to move from the spot. Darkness fell quickly over the beach and the surf, but Jacob just continued eating as he waited for his eyes to adjust. He had grown accustomed to waiting, in the three days he had done only that and that alone. He didn't really expect that to end so soon.

And so another night began.

* * *

_A/N:_

… _Don't really have much to say … _


	4. Day Four

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**I know it makes no sense**_

_**But what else can I do?**_

_**How can I move on**_

_**When I'm still in love with you?**_

Jacob watched a pair of surfers a few metres out into the ocean, holding his sign so that they might see it. For about an hour he'd been doing the same thing. The two hadn't really looked up, they were focused. At least, they hadn't looked up long enough to read the words on the cardboard. Jake had tried calling out a couple times, but between the surf and the distance they hadn't seemed to hear him. It was strangely warm- global warming or something- and so he had his windbreaker off, hanging on a limb beside the no-longer-neatly-rolled-now-sprawled-out sleeping bag. Both fluttered slightly in the light breeze like giant flags. He didn't think he could possibly be that hard to miss.

Finally, it looked like the surfers had seen him. One, anyway. The figure in the black full-body wetsuit had managed to balance for a moment on the constantly moving surf, steady enough to stare hard at Jacob. He held the sign still. A moment passed, there were only five words- you would have to be illiterate or six to take longer than a moment to read it, and the surfer looked away, to call something to his friend and point at Jake, who waved with one hand. The surfers talked back and forth for a minute, then slid down to their stomachs and paddled back to the beach, riding in on the waves when they could. Jacob watched the whole way, until they hit the beach and started walking, and then were about five feet in front of him.

"Who'd you loose?" one asked, the taller of the two, with sandy hair to his shoulders and a bad burn across his nose.

"Bella Swan," Jacob said, holding up the picture. "I'm waiting for her, she wasn't kidnapped or anything, she just... went away."

"How long have you been waiting here?" the other asked. This one had sheared brown hair, which he kept running his hand over. Jake resisted the urge to smirk at his obvious insecurity at the ridiculously bad haircut, instead answering the question at hand.

"Today makes one week."

Taller looked like he was going to say something, but Shorter pressed on. "Wait, you've been here for a week? And nothing's happened? Nobody's come? Can't you like, move on?"

Jacob's jaw tightened and he looked Shorter in the eye. "No," he said, with such steady determination that Shorter looked surprised, and didn't say anything more.

Satisfied that Shorter believed him, Jake turned back to Taller, who looked more sympathetic. "If you see her, can you tell her I'm here? And... tell her I love her?"

Taller looked awkward now. "Um, sorry man, but I don't-"

"Bella Swan," Jacob repeated the name in a slow voice, holding up the picture. "This girl. Tell her I love her."

"Look dude, we're not from around here," Shorter said, stepping forward as if to save Taller from the crazy. "We're just tourists. Hitting every beach we can find down the coast in a summer." He looked obnoxiously proud as he said the goal.

"Even better," Jacob said, refusing to back down. "You can spread the word."

"Right," Taller said, backing away slightly at the same time as Taller. Jacob's determination had intimidated them, and they both obviously thought he was insane. "We've got to go now. Take care of yourself, 'kay?"

Jacob didn't say anything, just watched as they walked away. One line replayed again and again in his mind. _Can't you like, move on?_

_"_No," he whispered after the surfers were out of earshot, dropping his head into his hands, elbows on knees, feet on ground. "I can't move on, Bella, I never could. How can I move on, when I'm still in love with you?"

* * *

_A/N:_

_Posted as per the request of Yari09 ^.^ I wasn't actually going to post any more tonight... but see what happens when you review and tell me to post?! I sucker into the peer-pressure! (mostly just 'cause I just do minor edits before posting... oh the joy of finishing something before publishing... ^_^)_

_If you're wondering why I keep deleting and reposting, it's because of either the center alignment or the line..._


	5. Night Seven

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**'Cause if one day you wake up**_

_**And find that you're missing me**_

_**And your heart starts to wonder**_

_**Where on this earth I could be...**_

Jacob wondered if Bella was thinking about him. If she loved him. If she ever fell asleep thinking about him like he was thinking about her, wrapped in a sleeping bag on a branch of a driftwood tree, listening to the surf, close now that it was high tide, and watching the forest. He wondered if she ever woke up beside her new vampire husband and thought about the werewolf she'd left behind. If she wondered where he was, if she even cared. Jacob wondered what she was thinking about. He wondered where she was. Seth had promised to tell him if anything changed, if they found out where she was. He wondered if they were looking for the information, or just making an idle promise. He wondered if anyone thought Bella was coming back. He wondered if they thought he was as crazy as Shorter and Taller had.

He turned slightly and looked up to the moon, the same moon Bella might be seeing now, if she was on this side of the world. He hoped she was. "Bella, I'm here. I'm on First Beach. On our tree. Where are you?" he called softly to the moon, as if it would transfer the message to Bella, wherever she was. Maybe it would. Maybe she'd have a dream about him. Then maybe she'd wake up and wonder where he was, and he'd be right here, on First Beach, on their tree, just like he said.

And maybe she'd come back to find him.

Jacob rolled over, facing the sea rather than the forest, and fell asleep.

* * *

_A/N:_

_Wow, only an hour within my promised daily update... sorry, I ended up spending most of the day either taking pictures for a photography class or freezing at a jazz festival ^_^* But part 5 is up, and soon part 6 (as I feel like I'm cheating posting such a short chapter so close to the time restraint), in which you get to see what Bella's been doing all this week! _

_Thanks for reviewing, I love reading your thoughts ^.^ (thoughts on my work at least -.-' sorry, just had to say that ^_^*)_

_~Aneko_

_A/N2:_

_KYA I NEVER REMEMBER THE LINE /facepalm. I need to find how to just do it in OpenOffice... gah. sorry for the two emails, people -.-' at least this time I caught it earlier on...._


	6. Night Seven: 2

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**...I'm thinkin' maybe you'll come back here**_

_**To the place that we'd meet**_

_**And you'll see me waiting for you**_

_**On the corner of the street.**_

_**So I'm not moving, **_

_**I'm not moving.**_

Bella Swan Cullen was standing before a large, floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the ocean at Isle Esme, staring intently at the moon. She'd woken up from a dream, one that she couldn't quite remember. It was about the moon though. Something about the moon. And water. There was water in it too.

Bella glanced back at Edward, her husband, spread on the bed, pretending to be asleep even though he couldn't be.

"Yes?" he asked, noticing Bella's gaze and opening a liquid topaz eye.

"Nothing," Bella said, looking back out the window. She couldn't seem able to look at her husband's face. Something nagged at her mind when she did. "The moon is beautiful tonight."

Bedsprings creaking, then light footsteps. Edward wrapped his arms around her waist. "The moon is beautiful every night," he said with a calm, measured tone. He was confused by her statement- didn't know what to think of such a random thought.

"It's not full every night," Bella said, leaning against him casually and looking down to the sea, where there was another, nearly identical moon.

"No, it is not," Edward agreed in the same tone as before.

Bella didn't have anything else to say, she just stared back up at the moon, wanting to be near it for some unknown reason. After a moment, she asked, "How long have we been here?"

"Seven nights, six days. One week," Edward responded easily. He'd been counting, apparently.

"And how long are we staying?"

"As long as you want," Edward assured her. He thought she was worried about leaving, obviously.

"Mmm..." Bella had asked the question of how long they were saying multiple times in the past week, always to see how long until they had to leave, but that wasn't actually how she took it now. She had a feeling she was missing something by being here. Something in that dream... with the moon, and the water...

Bella shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts.

"Something wrong?" Edward asked gently, rubbing her shoulder.

Bella didn't respond for a moment, then said, "Can we sleep outside tonight?"

Her husband looked more confused than ever now. "If you would like," he said, trying not to let his bewilderment show through his serene expression. Bella could see it easily though; she'd known him for long enough.

She pulled away, going to the bed and tugging at a sheet. It was stuck on one side, opposite Bella thus out of reach, and Edward quickly freed it. He looked up at her over the bed before he released it from his hand, still leaning down, and met her eyes. His were concerned. Bella looked down, and kept pulling at the sheet. She barely heard Edward sigh, frustrated by his inability to read his wife's thoughts as easily as she read his, and let go of the corner.

Five minutes later, and they were on the sand, the thin white sheet wrapped over them and their heads on one pillow. Bella leaned against Edward's shoulder and closed her eyes briefly, feeling the warmth of the sand and the night. "I love you," he murmured, rubbing her arm.

Bella smiled. "I love you too," she whispered. They stayed in the same position for a minute, Bella listening to Edward breathe and Edward listening to Bella's heartbeat. She opened her eyes again, not to look at her husband, but to look at the moon. The moon... the nagging feeling returned as she watched it.

Bella Swan Cullen didn't get any sleep that night, trying to think of what she had forgotten.

* * *

_A/N:_

_Ok, as working with a set plotline (a song) and length (again, the song), I've decided to do another songfic. (ok, ok, I'd decided that waaay back. But now I'm actually going to be starting it.)_

_Keeping to the Twilight ones for now, should I do Talk You Down (emphasis on Edward) or Breakevem (emphasis on Jacob, like this one) ?! Your input is greatly appreciated..._

_~Aneko_


	7. Day Fourteen

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**Policeman says,**_

_**"Son you can't stay here."  
I said, "There's someone I'm waiting for**_

"_**If it's a day, a month, a year..."**_

Another week went by. People were coming every day now, not just Seth or occasionally Leah or Sam bringing food and water, and more and more of the strangers knew who he was. Their questions were generally all the same:

_"How long have you been here?"_

_"How long are you going to stay?"_

_"What's so amazing about this girl?"_

As were his answers:

_"Two weeks."_

_"Until she comes back."_

_"I love her."_

Jacob stared down at his hands, thinking about the last girl who had come, a pretty blonde with sparkling grey-blue eyes and freckles across her nose. She had actually cared, and had written down Sam's number, the number that Jacob kept telling people to call with information. She'd repeated the names back to him multiple times to make sure she had them right as her boyfriend watched from a few steps back:

_"So your name is Jacob Black. And the girl's name is Bella Swan. And I'm supposed to call Sam Uley if I get any information? Jake, Bella, Sam. Jake, Bella, Sam."_

A shadow fell over Jacob's hands, disturbing his thoughts. He looked up, squinting hard against the bright light. Silhouetted against the setting sun was a very large looking man. Policeman, Jacob realized as his eyes adjusted to the light and he could make out the uniform, blue and official-looking.

"Do you have a permit to camp here?" the large man said. Jacob looked past him and saw a policewoman standing a few feet back, and there, in the back – Police Chief Charlie Swan. Maybe Jake had someone on his side.

"This is Quileute beach," Jacob said slowly, forming his argument as he spoke. "I have the right to camp on the reserve. Don't I?" he added, injecting a little challenge into his voice.

"Jake, please don't make us use force," Charlie sighed. He obviously wasn't happy with the situation.

"I'm not moving," Jacob said stubbornly, already abandoning the easy way and his planned speech.

"Son, you can't stay here," the first cop said in what should have been a gentle tone, with just a twinge of... something (bitterness, maybe exasperation?) under the surface. He didn't want to be there.

"There's someone I'm waiting for," Jacob said with the same stubbornness. "No matter if it's a day, a month, or a year." He had said the lines again and again in his head, _no matter if it's a day, a month, a year, _in the hopes they would become true. "I'm not moving," he repeated.

Cop Number One looked like he was going to argue, but the policewoman stepped forward and touched his arm. "Jack. Leave the kid be," she said, speaking for the first time. Her tone and expression were sympathetic.

Cop Number One – Jack – turned to her and spoke in a fast, low voice, "Margret, we can't let this kid stay here. He's disturbing the beachgoers, and ruining his life–"

Jacob made a small sound like a laugh at the last latter reason, muffled in a futile attempt to hide it. Jack and Margret ignored him.

"It's his life to live," Margret said calmly. "And if it's making beachgoers uncomfortable, then how come more and more people keep coming to see the guy who's been sitting on a tree for weeks?"

Jack's resolve was faltering, and it crumbled completely as the police chief, Charlie, walked up. "Maybe Margret's right," he said, sounding more than a bit tired. He turned to Jacob, and Jake could see how much it pained him to see his best friend's kid like this. "Take care of yourself." Jacob's jaw tightened slightly as he remembered the same words being spoken to him over a week ago, when he was still somewhat clean looking and overall not as desperate.

But he just bowed his head in response. "I will," he said quietly. He didn't look up to see Charlie and the others walk away.

* * *

_A/N:_

_Mmm... I don't actually have much to say. Might not be posting as often after today, as I will be leaving a place with decent internet connection TT_TT ~sadness~ I'll try to get a chapter up daily though._

_Thank you to anyone who has actually read this far!! Please review, comments, criticism, I don't care what, I appreciate them all._

_~Aneko_


	8. Day Twenty One

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

"_**...Gotta stand my ground**_

_**Even if it rains or snows.**_

_**If she changes her mind**_

_**This is the first place she will go."**_

Rain. Jacob realized now it was remarkable that he hadn't felt the full force of the Olympic Penninsula's climate. Before, it would rain for a few hours few days- nothing that couldn't be handled by the plastic tarp Sam had sent him via Seth the day of the first storm. The rain from that storm wasn't so bad, nor were the light showers that came frequently. The lightning from the storm had been a bit intimidating, but he hadn't got hit yet, and it seemed to be staying away.

And then the real rain came.

It had been raining for three days solid, this third day also marking the third week Jacob had been here on the tree.

Who said just _good_ things came in threes?

Jake spent his twenty-first day attempting to keep the tarp covering himself and his sleeping bag, exactly the same as the two previous days. And exactly as it had the two previous days, the rain managed to seep through and render everything damp. Even the wood of the dead tree seemed saturated. And of course, with the rain, there was no one coming to the beach. No way to spread the word further. According to Sam, though, people in town were starting to talk about him. They were starting to call about possible sightings of Bella. Of course, none of the sightings turned up genuine. And the Cullens were about as elusive as Bella herself- no one seemed able to pin them down. They were never at the house when someone came, and none of them answered their phones when people managed to find the numbers to call. Jacob had a feeling they were worried. Bloodsuckers had always wanted to stay under the radar, and now werewolves and random people were stopping by. Without their mind-reader, they couldn't tell why they were there either.

Jacob let out a sigh of pent-up frustration. He wasn't truly angry, being unable to phase had forced him to be better at controlling his emotions. But he wasn't so good at it that he never felt ticked off.

Footsteps. He looked up, pulled from thinking about the Cullens and pulled from the dead-to-the-world feeling he had gotten from the three-day solitude of the rain. He pulled up the tarp some – it was an opaque blue he couldn't see through – and saw... Leah. Leah Clearwater. Now that was a surprise. Jacob tried to keep the runoff from hitting his food and sleeping bag as he arranged it to where he could see Leah better, and she could see him. She looked waterlogged, even through her long black raincoat with the hood up and the sleeves covering her hands and her arms crossed in front of her chest, and her equally black boots reaching up under her coat.

"Leah?" Jacob said, disbelief coloring his voice.

"Don't you sound glad to see me," Leah said in her sarcastic tone, irritated from the wet and the cold. Jacob was instantly reminded why he didn't like Leah.

"Why are you here?" he growled, aggravated by her already.

Leah sighed, and with obvious effort to keep the biting edge from her voice answered– "I wanted to talk to you."

"About what."

"About why the hell you're sitting through three days of solid rain for a girl who doesn't even know you're out here for her."

Jacob got mad again at that, so much for staying neutral like Leah was, pissed that Leah of all people was coming to tell him he was being an idiot. "Look Leah, I'm staying no matter what you say. Did Sam put you up to this or something?"

Leah looked ridiculously calm. "Sam didn't tell me to come," she said carefully. "But the general consensus among the pack is that you're crazy and someone needs to get you out of here before you get sick."

Jacob breathed in deeply just like Leah herself had in an attempt to not shout. "I'm staying."

"What makes you think she'll ever come back to you? She chose the bloodsucker. He won. You lost. It's over, Jacob."

Jacob shook his head. "If she changes her mind, this is the first place she'll go."

Leah studied his face for a moment. She looked so small, her coat tight around her and the hood covering her head, her arms crossed over her chest looking almost defensive. Jacob felt almost bad for her as he held his tarp up, which had kept him mostly dry.

A moment passed before Leah opened her mouth again. Jacob looked weary, waiting for her to tell him off or yell or call him an idiot. What she actually said surprised him.

"Take care of yourself, Jake. We need you."

And before he could register exactly what she meant, she was walking away, back into the storm. He hesitated for a moment, then called to her–

"Hey, Leah!" She turned slightly. "Thanks," he said, quieter. He couldn't see her expression in the dark of the clouds and the dark of the rain, but he thought she might have smiled slightly as she nodded and turned back to the walk ahead of her.

And Jacob suddenly remembered that he did like Leah sometimes.

* * *

_A/N:_

_I just love Leah Clearwater, even if she does manage to tick off everyone, so I had to devote a verse to her, even if it was ridiculously difficult to keep her in-character ._

_Mmm... that's pretty much all I have to say. Leah is awesome. Happy Columbus Day, even though Columbus pretty much started the genocide of the Native Americans of Haiti (who all died out or escaped the island by around 200 years after Columbus' landfall). -thumbs up- I just love my US History teacher. Always puts such a happy spin on holidays he doesn't like._

_Reviews appreciated still ^_^ and votes for Breakeven/Talk You Down fanfic... _

_~Aneko_


	9. Day Twenty One: 2

_**'Cause if one day you wake up**_

_**And find that you're missing me,**_

_**And your heart starts to wonder**_

_**Where on this earth I could be...**_

Bella glanced out the window of the master suite at Isle Esme, her fingers pausing in her packing as she gazed at the sparkling sand of the beach and the glittering waters of the ocean beyond it.

"Sad to be leaving?" Edward asked quietly, his melodious voice coming from the other side of the room where he was finishing his own packing.

"Mmmm..." Bella murmured. She was indeed sad to be going. Isle Esme was officially Bella's favorite place on Earth; by far the most beautiful place she'd ever seen. These last three weeks had been magical, the days and the nights. Bella's cheeks heated up slightly thinking about those nights, the nights which had quite possibly been the most magical of all. Except one thing that soured them every time she fell asleep, since that night two weeks ago. The dream. The dream about the moon, and the sea, and forgetting. Every night it was the same, and every morning was the same:

She always would be wondering where something was, and always knew it was right where it should be, which didn't make any sense because it was lost.

And then she could never remember what exactly she had lost.

"Will you be ready to go in fifteen minutes?" Edward asked, touching her arm. She jumped slightly, having been startled by his sudden appearance. That was happening more and more as she got lost in her thoughts, always thinking about her dream.

"Mm. Yes," Bella said, shoving all the clothes she had been carefully folding down into the rest of the pile and slapping the suitcase closed. She zipped it easily, and turned to her husband with a smile. "Ready."

Edward smiled back, and rubbed her shoulder lovingly before picking up her suitcase easily and heading out to the private boat they'd be using to get back again. Bella looked out the window one more time before following. She knew she'd be able to see the same beach even better when they were outside, but there was something about this particular view. It seemed better in a way than the actual view, when she was out on the sand and could see everything. Maybe it had something to do with the dream. The dream... Bella's thoughts turned back to it as she followed Edward out.

Maybe Alice would be able to tell her what she'd forgotten, when she got back to Forks. The thought was comforting. Alice was organized enough. Maybe she could tell Bella what she'd lost. . . .

* * *

_A/N:_

_Nyaaaa, so sorry for the lack of post yesterday, got swamped with homework and actually feel asleep at 7:30 before I'd even gotten through half of it... =.=' didn't end up on a computer all day..._

_Yup, that's about it..._

_~Aneko_


	10. Day Twenty One: 3

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**...I'm thinking maybe you'll come back here**_

_**To the place that we'd meet**_

_**And you'll see me waiting for you**_

_**On The corner of the street**_

_**So I'm not moving,**_

_**I'm not moving,**_

_**I'm not moving,**_

_**I'm not moving.**_

Seth looked like he was going to trip over himself as he ran to the tree.

"You can slow down some," Jacob commented in an easy tone, leaning against the trunk. It wasn't as wet now, even though it'd only been a couple of hours since Leah came. As soon as she left, the rain had lightened up. There'd even been a rainbow. Now it was cloudy, but the lack of constant downpour was a relief.

Seth was absolutely exuberant as he bounced on the balls of his feet, about a meter ahead of Jacob.

"Yes?"

"We know where Bella is," Seth said in a rush. "At least, we know where she's going to be. Here. She's coming back. Today. Tomorrow? Tomorrow. Be here tomorrow."

"Seth. Slow down. What are you talking about?" Jake said, trying not to let his excitement get the best of him.

"Mai. The blonde. With the freckles. Remember?" Of course Jacob remembered her. She was the only one who had cared. "She's from Rio de Janeiro. Works at the airport. And an Edward Cullen booked a flight this morning to Seattle, Washington with a transfer in Houston, Texas this morning for himself and a Bella Cullen."

Jacob sat up straighter, swinging his legs off the log in front of him so he could look Seth straight in the eye. "You mean we've got her? We know where she is?"

Seth nodded. "And as soon as she gets here, she'll know. There's no way she won't know you're here. You're a celebrity, Jake."

Jacob looked at him quizzically. "What?"

Seth's grin widened. "Everyone in La Push and Forks and it's even made papers in Seattle and Portland so _they_ know who you are too and the tabloids are starting to pick up the story now. Soon you'll be known all over the country. Don't know who you are now, Jake?"

Jacob raised an eyebrow at the kid's expression- he looked like he was going to explode with excitement as he waited, jumping from foot to foot.

Finally, he actually did explode, bursting out with the answer: "You're Jacob Black, you're The Man Who Can't Be Moved!"

* * *

_A/N:_

_I just love Seth... and Leah... ^_^_

_GIGANTIC HUGE thank you's to everyone who's reviewed and everyone who's read this far!!_

_You guys keep me writing and posting ^_^ (and jumping every time my phone says I've got an email!)_

_Domo arigato!_

_~Aneko_


	11. Day Twenty Two

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**People talk about the guy**_

_**That's waiting on a girl.**_

_**There are no holes in his shoes**_

_**There's big hole in his world...**_

Alice Cullen was pacing, her eyes shut and her fingers tapping on her crossed arms.

Rosalie was perched on a chair at the table, a magazine open in front of her. "Trying to see if you should tell him?" she asked without looking up. Alice didn't bother asking who or what Rose meant.

"Yes."

"Well, when you figure something out, tell us, 'kay?" Emmett said, his eyes glued to TV, watching a baseball game. Jasper beside him made an affirming sound.

Alice glared. For someone so tiny, Alice was rather intimidating.

Rosalie sighed again with the elegant grace usually only seen by French girls played by Americans in movies and set the arm that had been holding up her chin on the table. "Alice, must you pace?"

Alice froze for a moment, eyes shut again after briefly opening for a piercing glare. Almost immediately her foot started tapping.

"What is the _problem_?" Rosalie said, exasperated. "Just tell him. And Bella." She said the latter's name with that age-old venom she couldn't seem to help. Esme shot her a look from across the table.

"Not Bella," Alice fretted. "We can't tell Bella, she'd feel terrible and maybe even go to that _dog._" Alice wrinkled her nose at the word. She was not fond of the wolves.

"We should tell her," Esme said mildly, filling in a word on a crossword puzzle. Alice shook her head.

"Can't you just tell us what's going to happen?" Emmett said without moving his eyes from the screen. The arguing was interfering with his watching the game.

"That's the problem," Alice said, casting him a scathing look. "My vision keeps disappearing. It's that dog! He's playing with my vision!"

Jasper glanced back at Alice, who instantly started to feel calmer. She turned her withering gaze to him, and the calm receded as he turned around.

"It isn't his fault," Esme said calmly.

"From what I hear, he's hardly going to be changing his mind about anything. It's Bella messing with your vision," Rosalie said nonchalantly, flipping the page of her magazine.

"But Bella doesn't _know_ what to change her mind about!" Alice said, throwing her arms up in the air and resuming pacing. "There's no reason for her to be putting these holes in my vision! It's Jacob! His whole _world_ is a gigantic hole!"

"You may want to see this," Rosalie interrupted her sister's rant calmly. Everyone turned to her, even Emmett, and Alice paused in her rounds. Rosalie held up the magazine, folded so that part of an article and several small pictures were showing.

In the pictures was a familiar face. Jacob Black, as captured by phones and snapshot cameras.

The headline? "The Man Who Can't Be Moved."

"Keeping this a secret may be harder than we thought," Rosalie commented, lowering her magazine back to the table to read the article.

Alice resumed her pacing.

* * *

_A/N_

_If the formatting is screwed up, I blame the fact that I'm using a school computer. But that gets this chapter posted like five hours early, so a couple formatting errors isn't that bad, right? ^_~_

_Other news: I've had over 1,000 hits to my stories this week, 950 from TMWCBM!! THANK YOU ALL!!! XD_

_~Aneko_


	12. Day Twenty Two: 2

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**Maybe I'll get famous**_

_**As the Man Who Can't Be Moved.**_

_**Maybe you won't mean to**_

_**But you'll see me on the news...**_

Jacob marveled at the number of reporters on the beach. Evidentially the elders had been keeping them out for over a week under Sam's orders, and he had just given the affirmative to allow them into the reservation.

They had all wanted to take pictures and interview the famous Jacob Black, The Man Who Can't Be Moved.

And of course, with all the reporters from famous magazines and newspapers and TV shows, more people came to the beach, and more people learned the story. It was spreading like a wildfire, and reportedly all anyone talked about in Forks was Jacob.

Some people had even called from out of town to say it was all that was talked about in other cities all over the States.

It had been Leah's idea to keep out reporters until they got word of Bella's location, instead of letting them in from the beginning. To keep the story fresh, she argued, for when Bella was able to see it. So that when Bella came back from her honeymoon, that was all she'd see.

Well, keeping people out to attract attention had clearly worked. Just an hour after Seth left, reporters started coming in. NYTimes, CNN, ABC, Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, Fox, even the BBC had someone stationed in the US fly out. Every acronym Jake had ever heard to describe the news, and then some. Everyone seemed to be sending representation, and Jacob didn't recognize a single name from any of them – the big league reporters were supposed to be coming later. After all, everyone just wanted to hit the story first. Everyone wanted to get something big. And thus they were sending interns to call dibs.

So Jake gave them what they wanted. He even got teary-eyed a time or two, anything to make it hit the front page. But he never lied about the story – that was something he'd never change.

It had been four hours solid filled with interviews. Sam and Jared and Paul had all been called in to help organize everyone. Leah and Seth came too, but mostly just to be supportive. Well, Seth was supportive anyway. Leah for the most part just ticked people off.

The last interview was for TV, CNN's second, while still the first they'd air. Not live, to be showed briefly on the ten o'clock news, with more on the six o'clock the next day. This interviewer Jacob recognized, if only vaguely. She was a stiff looking brunette, very pretty in that hair-spray-and-makeup way. Not as beautiful as Bella, not as natural looking.

"So, you're Jacob Black, correct?" she asked, before the cameras started rolling. One was pointed directly at them, Jacob on his tree branch and she on a folding chair. "I'm Michelle," she said, without waiting for an answer. "I'll ask the questions, you give the answers." She was clearly going through an old routine, and wasn't even looking at Jacob, reciting her questions as she checked her hair in a small mirror.

Then, when Jake wasn't replying, she looked up. Her expression was slightly guarded, as if she was going to be embarrassed shortly. She hesitated, then said, "Why are you doing this?"

"Isn't that going to be one of your questions?" Jacob asked, gesturing at the script sitting in her lap.

"People never say the truth on TV," she said dismissively, waving away the question with a hand. "I want to hear the truth." The shield hiding emotion from her face slipped slightly. "I'm curious."

Jake started to tell her to just get on with the interview – he always said the truth and would rather only have to say it once to her. That's what he told the last several people, interviewers and bystanders alike. It'd been a long day.

But instead, he sighed. "I love her," he said, more to his hands on his knees to the interviewer, Michelle. "And I think she might love me too."

Michelle was silent for a moment, mulling over his answer. "I think I believe you," she said slowly after a moment. There was a pause before she turned to the cameraman. "Roll it," she said in her original commanding tone. The cameraman nodded, and pressed a couple buttons. Michelle held up her microphone, shoving an identical one to Jacob just out of the frame, and then–

"Hi, I'm Michelle Walsh and I'm here in Forks, Washington with Jacob Black, the Man Who Can't Be Moved..."

* * *

_A/N:_

_Michelle's last name isn't a reference to anyone- I just like the name.... (If that statement doesn't make any sense to you, don't worry about it ^_^)_

_Wow, this is the last week of chapters... everything should be finished up on Friday. O_O only five chapters after this one... O_O (again). _

_Chapters are about to start getting longer... fewer of these little micro-bits. _

_Right now I'm working on a fic for We Cry, but as I don't have a plot it might be a while... and as it's all just the characters from the song, it'll be on FictionPress as opposed to FF. PM me if you would like to read it when it's done and being posted. (me: -.-' I feel weird thinking someone might actually reply to that... and a little stuck-up ^_^*)_

_HUGE HUGE HUGE thanks to my reviewers, you guys are the best XD I never get reviews on my stories and love hearing what you guys think... ^_^_

_That's all. Sorry 'bout the long AN._

_~Aneko_


	13. Day Twenty Two: 3

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**...And you'll come running to the corner**_

_**'Cause you'll know it's just for you.**_

_**I'm the Man Who Can't Be Moved.**_

"Ready to be home?"

Bella nodded, opening her eyes for a moment to smile at her husband, and continued leaning back against her seat with her eyes shut, enjoying the last moments of peace she'd have. They were driving back to Forks from the Portland airport now, in Edward's Volvo. He was driving, of course. Bella doubted he'd ever let her drive, as she never went above the speed limit. The flight had been long and uneventful, unless you counted the snack lady coming by four times to see if Edward had wanted anything. Bella had made sure to keep her ring visible each time, which by the third go-around had started to annoy the pretty young flight attendant. Edward hadn't noticed, naturally.

"It's going to be nice to see Alice and Esme and everyone," she commented in an attempt to keep the conversation going, specifically avoiding the people she knew Edward had marked on his unspoken 'do not mention' list. It was a rather long list, comprising of everyone Bella knew who wasn't a vampire. Charlie marked the top with Renee. And Jacob.

Edward's phone rang. Bella jumped at the sound, even though the volume was turned one notch from 'off' and the ringtone itself was nothing but a piano riff. To add to the embarrassment, this was actually the fifth time it had rung. The first two were just old voicemail alerts, but then real calls had started coming through. Edward hadn't listened to any of the messages or answered any of the calls – he said it was still their honeymoon until they got back to the house. And then Bella was scheduled to be changed. Vacation over, if only for a few days until the change was complete. . . .

Edward glanced at the caller ID. "Alice..." he muttered.

"Hasn't it been Alice each time?" Bella asked, leaning over to see the small, vibrating black cell phone Edward was holding.

"Yes."

"You should answer it." Edward looked like he was going to protest, so Bella cut him off. "I don't mind, really. And if Alice keeps calling, it's got to be important. Listen to the voicemails while you're at it. I'll listen to the radio. See what we missed in isolation."

Very deliberately, Bella turned on the radio and turned the dial to NPR. She gave Edward a significant glance for him to do his part. He sighed, and flipped open the phone.

"Alice?"

Bella turned up the volume slightly. "...NPR's Rachel Mason reports," the drone-announcer said, before a fractionally less droning voice started in.

"It's not a surprising sight to see, a high school age Quileute sitting on the beach. Until you get closer, and you see that he's been sitting there for quite some time. I'm talking about the new nation-wide sensation, the famed 'guy who's waiting on a girl' and has been for three weeks, refusing to move in case his love returns, The Man Who Can't Be Moved–"

Edward cut off the radio, just as the newscaster had gotten enough suspense to say a name. He'd hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. No way had he listened to all of the voicemails in that short of time. "What is it?" Bella said, a little irritated. She'd actually wanted to know the name, now that the reporter had built up so much suspense.

"Nothing," Edward replied, deadpanning the road straight ahead. "I'm done talking."

"Did Alice have any news?" Bella asked after a moment, a little awkwardly from her surprise at Edward's sudden change in mood.

"Nothing of much importance."

Silence for a moment, then Bella said, "I feel kind of sorry for that guy they were talking about on the radio. The one who's waiting on his girlfriend."

Edward didn't say anything, just kept his eyes on the road and hands on the wheel.

"I hope she goes to him. I know I'd come running if a guy did something like that for me. I mean, it's got to be awful with all the rain and everything."

"Really." It wasn't an agreement or a question, barely enough emotion to be a statement. But Bella answered it as if it was a question anyway:

"Yes."

* * *

_A/N:_

_ok, so according to OpenOffice I lied and this chapter isn't any longer than the usual._

_I swear they are getting longer though._

_Just... um... not as quickly as I thought they were._

_All of them from this point on are important though. And one page long or longer._

_Just think of it as building up for the last two chapters, they're each around 2 pages long ^_~_

_~Aneko_

_A/N II: _

_I just realized this is chapter 13. Something unlucky must have happened! Well, I guess if you're Edward it is a pretty crappy/unlucky 13.... It's been unlucky for him since 1, he just didn't know it until now (13!)... Of course, if you're Jacob, thirteen rocks!_


	14. Day Twenty Three

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**'Cause if one day you wake up**_

_**And find that you're missing me,**_

_**And your heart starts to wonder**_

_**Where on this earth I could be...**_

_"Hi, I'm Michelle Walsh and I'm here in Forks, Washington with Jacob Black, the Man Who Can't Be Moved, who's been sitting on this very beach for the past three weeks." Walsh turned from the camera to Black. "So, I've heard you're waiting on a Isabella Swan?"_

_Black nodded. He looked like he was going to say something additional, but then just nodded again and confirmed what Walsh had said – "Bella Swan, yes."_

_"Tell us about her." Walsh was experienced, and didn't even look at the camera even though the implication was that 'us' was her and the millions of people who would see this interview._

_"I love her," Black said with a slightly husky voice and faraway expression. "She's beautiful and kind and too damn trusting for her own good." He clenched the hand previously resting on his knee into a fist and pressed it into his leg, looking like he was inwardly cursing himself about something._

_"Why do you say that she's too trusting for her own good?"_

_"I don't think she'd want me to say specifically," Black said, smirking ever so slightly, his expression still a bit spacey. "But I will say that she's making a bad choice in a relationship right now. He's not right for her."_

_"And you're Bella's 'Mr. Right' then?" Walsh asked, appearing as if she already knew that there was another 'he' in Bella's life. Maybe if she didn't move back, she could get Black to talk more... there would be time for back-story later, after all._

_"I'm a hell of a lot better than he is for her health, if that's what you're asking." Black's tone and expression didn't allow room for Walsh to ask about that too._

_ There was a pause, then Walsh said, "So, what do your parents think about this decision? The decision to stay here and wait, that is?"_

_"Mother's dead, father knows he can't stop me," Black said shortly._

_"Oh," Walsh said. She seemed to realize that she had been too pushy at the start, too nosy and centered on her own knowledge rather than keeping it to the job, and backtracked quickly. "So, Jacob, when did you first meet Bella?"_

_Black visibly relaxed ever so slightly. "It was a Saturday, her second week in Forks. Bunch of kids from town went down to La Push while the weather was nice. We started talking and walked around some, and I told her some of the local myths while we were here on this tree. That was the first meeting."_

_"And then? Was it just love at first sight?"_

_"For me, maybe. Bella went out with some other guys for a year or so, but then," he paused, thinking, "Then one broke up with her, and she needed some support. So I tried to help her. And she got better. She got over him. And then..." his face darkened. "And then he came back, and she fell back to him."_

_"Ouch. Dumped for the ex," Walsh said with reporter-sympathy. "That must have stung."_

_"Understatement of the month," Black muttered under his breath, looking down briefly at his fist. "I'm oversimplifying the story," he said apologetically, looking up to the interviewer again. "But I don't want to say too much and hurt Bella or her family. I just want her back." His expression changed again slightly, more pleading. "I want her to understand that he's not the only option. She doesn't have to go to him. She's... she's got a choice. And I'll wait for her to make it."_

_"Well," Walsh said, "I think she's going to be happy to know that she's not being forced into anything. We don't have much time left, is there anything you want to say to the audience, or Bella?"_

_Black looked straight at the camera and said, "Bella, I love you. I've never stopped and I never will. I'll never stop wanting to protect you and make you happy, but not if that means lying. And I'll never, ever leave you, for better or for worse. And that's all I have to say."_

Edward Cullen pointed the remote at the large flat-screen and pressed 'pause'. He kept his face impassive as he studied Jacob Black's dirty, unkempt face for a moment, then pressed 'power'.

* * *

_A/N:_

_Sorry there's not a whole lot of moving-forward going on, but all of this is important, I swear... _

_Also, sorry about everything being in italics. ^_^* Everyone caught that it's Edward watching the six o'clock news, right? The day after the interview was recorded? So it's kind-of-sort-of from Edward's POV. In the original draft, it doesn't have that last bit out of italics in present-time, but that's because it jumps right to BellaPOV and... yeah, well, it just makes sense to not have EdwardPOV when it's all in one draft. -.-' not so much when it's read one chapter at a time..._

_GAH my internet kept fading in and out today... . making my English paper hard to research for... that's why this chapter wasn't posted earlier..._

_Yeesh. I had to attempt to upload this twice before it told me I'd reached my 15 doc limit, then another three-five times after I'd deleted six or so docs! . WHY, FanFiction? _

_~Aneko_


	15. Day Twenty Three: 2

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**...I'm thinking maybe you'll come back here**_

_**To the place that we'd meet**_

_**And you'll see me waiting for you**_

_**On The corner of the street**_

_**So I'm not moving,**_

_**I'm not moving,**_

_**I'm not moving,**_

_**I'm not moving.**_

"What were you watching?" Bella said, leaning against the doorway with a mildly irritated expression, her hair still wet from the shower. 'The Change' as they were calling it had been delayed by an unknown amount of time for some unknown reason Bella couldn't fathom. Probably it had something to do with Edward... He had been acting oddly all day, turning off the TV _just_ as she walked in was just another quirk among many. She knew the weird behavior most likely had to do with whatever Alice had said on the phone, but _what_ could Alice have said to make him act so strangely?

"It was just the news," Edward answered easily. He clearly wasn't going to elaborate, so Bella turned to Alice in the dining room, where she was talking to Esme. Of course, just as she turned to look at them, they both stopped talking and looked at her.

Edward wasn't the only one who had been acting strangely today.

"Alice, could I talk to you for a moment?" Bella said, a little louder and higher pitched than she normally would have spoken.. Alice got up, graceful as always: "Of course."

Edward moved to get up as well, but Bella shot him a look. "It's girl stuff," she said bluntly, taking Alice's arm, and he lowered himself back onto the couch. Esme didn't move to follow them as Bella lead Alice upstairs, although she watched them go.

They went to Edward's room, which had been reorganized since they moved out to a house in the woods (a birthday and wedding present courtesy of the Cullen family), and Bella closed the door behind them before moving to sit on the couch. She motioned for Alice to follow.

"Alice, I feel like I'm forgetting something," Bella announced as the vampire sat beside her.

"You had to wait until we were in private to say you were missing something?" Alice said, looking a bit amused. "What're you missing? Tampons?"

"No," Bella said, flushing slightly and struggling to keep the perfectly clear tone of her announcement.. "I don't know what I'm missing. Something important. Or maybe someone?"

Alice's expression turned slightly guarded. "What makes you think that?"

"I keep having this dream," Bella said, trying to think of a good way to phrase the backstory and the question itself at the same time. "But I can never remember it. Something about the beach, I think, and the moon and the water. Something like that." Bella sighed. "I was hoping you could help. _What_ have I forgotten? Or who...? _Who _am I forgetting?"

Alice laughed, but her face stayed behind a shield. "I see the future, Bella, not the past."

"But you're so... so sensible!_" _Bella said, exasperated and a bit embarassed. "You'd be as good as any to figure out who it is!"

Alice's false laughter slid slowly from from her face, and she tilted her eyes down slightly. "I don't know," she said. "I think Edward might be able to tell you better than I can."

Bella scrutinized her face – Alice was clearly withholding information – and then just sighed. "I don't know, Alice... he's been acting weird ever since we got back."

Alice kept her mask on, only a tiny bit of a pitiful expression seeping through. "Talk to him about it," she said. "Maybe that'd help." She got up – conversation over – and walked to the door, opening it. She paused in the doorway before walking through, her pale fingers of one hand on the door-frame and of the other on the doorknob, and glanced back at Bella, who looked about as lost as she felt. For a moment it appeared Alice was going to say something, emotions seeming to bubble under the surface, emotions Bella couldn't explain – anger, then pity, then indecisiveness – but she only sighed ever so slightly and walked out, closing the door behind her.

As she left, Bella couldn't help but draw two conclusions:

1. Edward was keeping something from her, and

2. Alice was _very_ _much_ in on it.

* * *

_A/N:_

_So, Edward's acting weird and Alice is keeping something from her! Fun! I bet we all can guess what it is, too!! (Except Bella, of course. Poor Bella...)_

_GOMEN for the late post... blame my stupid partners on a project about payola! Very interesting topic, but not when you're going to be teaching it to a class while three out of the other four people in your group presenting look like idiots._

_Only three more chapters... O_O And two of them are from Bella's POV! *gasp* _

_Also, I've started writing a possible sequel... or more likely just another Twific/Songfic. Talk You Down this time though. Lots of Edward POV. Less Jacob. More Bella. More Angela (who is re-appearing in the next chapter, yay!). Add in some car-chases, some angst, more vampires, and the Volturi and... well, and then let me finish writing, and then I'll tell you what you get, or actually you can read it then ^_~ but whatever comes out, I'm sure it will be epic and fun to write and involve me listening to Talk You Down a couple dozen times. _

_~Aneko_


	16. Day Twenty Four

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**'Cause if one day you wake up**_

_**And find that you're missing me,**_

_**And your heart starts to wonder**_

_**Where on this earth I could be...**_

"Bella! You're back! I've been trying to get a hold of you, but your phone would just keep ringing and go to voicemail."

"Hey, Angela. It's great to hear your voice." Bella leaned against her bedroom door causally. She'd finally gotten around to charging her phone, just to see a good dozen missed calls and voice messages from Angela. And Jessica. And Mike. And her father. And... _Leah Clearwater_. "Edward took me to this island in like, the middle of _no where_ in South America for the honeymoon, so we didn't have cell service. This is the first time I've charged my phone in a month. Scary, right?"

"Bella," Angela said, sounding excited and serious at the same time, brushing off what she usually would have laughed about. "Have you watched the news recently?"

Bella tilted her head to the side out of habit, pushing off the door and walking closer to the center of the room. "No. Calling you is just about the first thing I've done since getting back into civilization."

She could hear Angela moving on the other end. "We need to go down to La Push. _You_ need to go to La Push. Like, right now."

"I can't just leave, Edward and Alice and Esme are all out picking up dinner," she felt a twinge of guilt at the way she stretched the truth to make it sound sane, "and Edward's been acting weird since we got back..."

"I'm serious, Bella," Angela said. She certainly sounded serious, enough that it was almost unnerving. "We have to go now. I'll pick you up." Jingling metal. Keys being picked up, Bella guessed.

"What's in La Push anyway?" Bella said, almost irritated sounding from her unnerve, pacing circles around the room.

"You haven't heard _anything_ about him? This is making national headlines! And he's your _friend!_"

"Who are you talking about?" Bella said, exasperated and on edge.

"Jacob Black! _The Man Who Can't Be Moved!"_

"Jake's the–" Bella was cut off by the sight of Edward suddenly beside her. "Hold on a second, Angela," Bella said, her voice shaking slightly as she lowered the phone without hanging up, hearing Angela speak without hearing the words.

At that moment, Bella was frightened, for the first time in a long, long time, it was because of Edward. He had appeared so suddenly, and his whole appearance was just so... vampiric, eyes slightly crazed from what must have been a long run, his hair and clothes blown from the speed... It didn't help that Bella had been so on-edge before from Angela.

"Bella," he said quietly, touching her face lightly. Bella flinched, realizing that action was something she hadn't done in a long time. Something clenched inside her at the thought.

"You... startled me," she said. Her voice sounded ever so slightly off. Then she noticed something about him... his eyes were still dark butterscotch. "You weren't done hunting," she said, brushing her finger over his velvety lavender eyelid, as he closed his eyes to allow it. She forced herself to do it, to touch him, to reassure herself that _Edward_ wasn't someone to be afraid of.

Edward looked away slightly, gently grabbing the hand on his face and holding it. "I wanted to check on you," he said.

"You ran all this way without finishing to _check on me? _I'm not that breakable, and Emmet and Jasper and Carlisle and Rosalie are all here. Nothing's happened. I just called Angela, since she's been trying to call me–"

And then... cue floating lightbulb as everything clicked in Bella's head. "You knew," she whispered. "You knew that Jake was waiting for me and you didn't want me to know!" Her voice grew more and more shrill with shock as Edward's face grew more and more emotionless. "Alice told you when she called! That's what it was!" No expression, no nod, no 'yes', certainty no apologetic words. Bella's voice dropped to a whisper, "That's why you turned off the radio and the TV, because _you knew_ and didn't want me to know. But... but why? Why didn't you just _tell _me?"

"I want you to be happy, Bella," Edward said quietly, "And I didn't want Jacob Black going and making you unhappy the way he has now by being stupid."

"He's not being stupid, he's being sweet," Bella said automatically.

"By making you feel guilty about making your choice?" Edward shot back, a touch of anger in his voice. _I won,_ his voice said, _Get over it, Jacob Black. You lost. Game over._

Bella wanted to say her choice wasn't concrete, that it could be changed. She wanted to see Jacob. He was throwing away his life for her. She owed it to him to at least visit. Bella brushed past Edward, "Angela's probably here by now. She said she'd drive me," and walked to the door.

But of course, he was already there, his eyes smouldering. His voice was layered with honey and an underlying current of panic- "Bella, I won't let you go and be unhappy by the likes of that dog."

Bella walked straight to him, moving to go through the door, until she was blocked by his arm. "Edward, let me go," she said quietly. His silence was as good as an answer- _But what if you don't come back? _She waited, and he still did not move to allow her through. "Edward. Let. Me. Through," Bella said again.

This time, he shifted, just enough for Bella to go flying through the doorway. Edward watched from where he had been, leaning against the frame, as she bounded out the cottage door, suddenly remembering her phone on the way and bringing it back to her ear to talk.

Alice was suddenly beside him. Edward knew she'd been listening in another room. "I think you did the right thing by telling her the truth," Alice said quietly. Edward heard the edge in her voice and thoughts- she wasn't particularly pro-Jacob. Edward didn't reply, he didn't know what to think yet. He closed his eyes, feeling the vaguely familiar voice of Angela Weber's mind come through. She was thinking about Jacob, obviously. He watched through Angela's eyes as Bella got in her car, and Angela began to fill her in on everything. He continued to watch until Angela was completely out of range, and would have followed if it weren't for Alice's hand on his arm and her thoughts pounding through decisively and clearly, _Don't. Let her go._

And so he did.

_A/N:_

_So now Bella knows! And she's on her way! ANGELA FTW! Angela was played down so much in the series, I felt I had to bring her in.... Meyer states every now and then that Angela's great and stuff, but not much.... Bella's group of friends needs to expand some ^_~_

_Only two chapters remaining! One more from B-POV, and then the last from Jacob's! So close to the end... TT_TT _

_~Aneko_


	17. Day Twenty Four: 2

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**...I'm thinkin' maybe you'll come back here**_

_**To the place that we'd meet**_

_**And you'll see me waiting for you**_

_**On the corner of the street.**_

_**So I'm not moving, **_

_**I'm not moving.**_

Bella toyed with her wedding ring as Angela's monologue began to ebb, twisting the band around her finger again and again. Only a few points from the speech were sinking in:

1. Jacob had remembered where they met.

2. Jacob had been waiting for her for almost a month, and

3. Edward had hidden it all from her.

Everything else faded into the background, the news stories, the national celebrity status, everything the Quileutes had done for him, none of it mattered in comparison to those three points.

"Bella. Bella. _Bella,_" Angela repeated again and again, exasperated.

Bella finally noticed and looked up, "Sorry. Thinking."

"You've got a lot to think about," Angela admitted, giving her that one. "But I think you just missed something important."

"What?"

"I forgot to mention it earlier," Angela said, "But Jacob still calls you Swan. Instead of Cullen, I mean. He never once mentioned Edward by name, nor did he say you two got married. So I was wondering if you thought it was because he's trying to keep Edward's family's name clean, or if he's just in denial. Thought you might find it important, too."

Bella felt tears welling up in her eyes. Jacob... doing something good for Edward's family... keeping their name clean, just in case Bella didn't go back to him, and she herself would be at the mercy of the public... What was worse was that Bella couldn't help wondering if Edward would have done the same.

She slid off her wedding ring and dropped it in the cup holder, engagement ring soon following, and stared out the window with her eyes wide open in an attempt to keep from crying. "I don't think it matters the reason," Bella said with a slightly choked voice. "But... it's a sweet gesture..." She stopped talking. Talking while trying to hold back tears probably wasn't a good idea.

Angela didn't say anything for a moment, she seemed to have emotion-radar sometimes with her ability to _not talk. _And then, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, trying to keep the car going straight with one hand, and handed it to Bella. iPhone, shiny and black. "Click center button, slide, and then hit play. I've got it on the video already."

Bella followed her friend's instructions without question, and didn't even mess them up. As the phone started up, she couldn't help but idly wonder if it was a gift from Ben. She couldn't imagine Angela buying something so nice for herself.

"That video's gone viral, everyone's supposed to show it to you if they see you now," Angela said quietly as Bella waited for it to load. She hit play a couple seconds later, and saw a stiff-looking brunette. Reporter, there was the CNN symbol in the corner, and who else would wear so much makeup?

"_Is there anything you want to say to the audience, or Bella?"_

The video cut to Jacob suddenly. Bella was shocked by his appearance – he looked worse for wear to say the least. Still, he looked the camera dead on and said in a clear voice-

_"Bella, I love you. I've never stopped and I never will. I'll never stop wanting to protect you and make you happy, but not if that means lying. And I'll never, ever leave you, for better or for worse. And that's all I have to say."_

And Bella let the tears flow unrestrained.

* * *

_A/N:_

_*gasp* is Bella re-thinking her choice like she told Edward she might? (sorry, just had to say something dramatic like that)_

_Sorry if my Angela dialogue doesn't sound quite like her, I haven't read Twilight in a while and at the time I last read it, Meyer's lack of emphasis on Angela didn't exactly help to remember how exactly she speaks._

_Only one chapter left! TT_TT and then it's over... _

_Thank you to everyone who's read this far!! And everyone who's reviewed!!! You people are awesome ^_^_

_~Aneko_


	18. Night Twenty Four: the end of the wait

_A/N:_

_THE FINAL CHAPTER has arrived!!_

The Man Who Can't Be Moved

_**Going back to the corner  
Where I first saw you....**_

Jacob leaned against his tree, contemplating Michelle's change in and out of reporter-mode in a deliberate attempt to _not_ think about Bella and her lack of presence. It was nearly eleven on day two of broadcasting, day twenty-four of his waiting. The news shows should have all played by now. And Bella had been seen in the country. So why... why wasn't she there?

"Dammit," Jacob growled. He'd done it again, started to panic. The anger-control he'd worked on and improved since coming here had started to degrade throughout the day.

He tried to focus on Michelle again. She'd been only mildly interested in a shallow, interviewer-esque way during the actual interview, but then so open and interested and personable before. It was like she was two different people. He shook his head, he just didn't understand women.... Like Bella. Jake didn't understand Bella. He didn't understand why–

He cut off the thought, pressing his forehead into the heels of his hands, elbows on knees, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn't think about Bella. He was afraid that his brain would tell him some things that he didn't want to hear.

_"Jake?"_

_You're taking the hearing thoughts thing too far, _Jacob thought to himself without opening his eyes or moving at all. He had become rather good at not moving by this point.

_"Jacob!" _

It wasn't even Bella's voice resonating in his head now. He didn't even _recognize _this voice, except that it was female.

And then he heard the footsteps, too clear to be a dream, and looked up, and saw. . . .

_Bella._

"Bella!" Jacob shouted, jumping up for the first time in almost a month. He almost fell over from the sudden weight on his unsteady feet, waves of weakness washing over him from the far-less-than-usual amount of food he'd been getting and from the complete lack of exercise. He didn't care though: all he could see was Bella, his Bella, Isabella Marie Swan, and all that mattered was that he could see her at all.

Bella had tears in her eyes as Jacob wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly against him, and she kept saying his name and he said hers again and again. He felt her collapse into him, her hands around his shoulders. He held her tighter, swinging her in a small circle with her feet just barely off the ground; not even caring that he probably stank and hadn't shaved in forever and that he had almost fallen over from the effort of merely _standing_.

Jacob felt like he was supposed to kiss her or something, but that kind of also felt that it would ruin the moment if he tried something like that. He didn't love Bella that way. He loved Bella _this_ way.

He also felt like the media would have wanted to be there too, or at least a half dozen people to take pictures with camera phones. That would be even more of a moment-killer. And he'd waited a pretty long time for this moment, even if he hadn't thought it would be nearly an entire month later at eleven PM.

And then he noticed Bella's tears seeping into the shoulder of his t-shirt. "Bella?" he asked, surprise coloring his tone. He rubbed her back some, that always seemed to help, and she stepped back, still crying openly but with her face radiating happiness.

"He didn't tell me. He tried to keep it from me," Bella said, having to gasp for breath slightly as tears continued to run down her face. "But Angela found out." Jake glanced behind her, just now noticing Bella's friend–the other voice. He vaguely recognized her as Bella's nice friend from the wedding, and the ill-fated prom. "She brought me here," Bella continued in a shaky voice. "Even though he didn't want me to see you. Or find out." There was no question who 'he' was. "He said he didn't want me to be sad and have to–" she gave a slight choking gasp, a fresh wave of tears coming, "Have to be forced to make a choice that was already made."

Jacob tensed. That was so, so like Cullen. And it had obviously upset Bella, without even an invented 'greater good' like he usually had.

"So I changed my choice," Bella said in a small voice. "If he – if Edward – really wants me to be happy, then he wouldn't have hidden it from me. He wouldn't have stopped me from going to someone who won't hide anything from me. I can make my own choices. I can take care of myself."

_No you can't,_ Jacob almost said, but he knew she really was more self-reliant than she was usually given credit for. . . when vampires weren't involved, anyway.

Then something clicked. "You said you changed your choice?" Jacob said slowly.

Bella smiled slightly through her tears, and pulled her left hand off his shoulder, showing it to him.

No rings.

Jake pulled her back into a giant wolf hug, his own face wet now. "I waited, and waited, and waited for you," he said hoarsely. "I thought maybe... maybe you'd come back. Maybe if I waited right here where we met and refused to move, maybe you'd come back. Maybe you'd hear about it from a friend or see me on the news, and know I still love you and I always, always will, Bella, I love you. . . ." his voice cut off, there was no reason to continue talking, and he pressed his face into her hair, breathing in its familiar scent. It was tainted with vampire but still smelled of her strawberry shampoo. It was still Bella. "It was hard," he continued in a whisper after a moment, deciding to keep telling the story. "I couldn't stand, I couldn't phase, the pack brought me sandwiches and bottled water and protein bars so I could survive, but really, you know what I lived on Bella?" He unwound her arms from his neck and held her at arm's length by her shoulders so he could see her whole face. "I lived on hope and love. I stared up at the moon every night and knew you'd be seeing the same moon wherever you were, and that gave me hope, too."

"My dream," Bella said, a little absently as her eyes unfocused and it all came flooding back: the ocean, the moon, and the feeling of fur under her fingers and _warmth_ and Jake's voice saying her name again and again. . . . "That's what I was forgetting," she said in a rather reverent tone, "You."

"You dreamed about me?" Jacob said, surprised and amazed.

"Every night," she said solemnly. "After the first week, I dreamed about you and the moon _every single night_, but all I could remember in the morning that I was forgetting something important, and I kept wondering what it was and where. . . ."

Jacob smiled hugely, and laughed out loud. "Why are you laughing?" Bella said, laughing some herself.

Jacob shook his head slightly, laughing still. "It's amazing. You're amazing."

"You were the one who sat on a piece of driftwood for almost a month. That's more impressive."

"Sure, Sure," Jake said with a grin. "But I still think you count as more amazing."

Suddenly it seemed like it would only improve the moment to kiss her. So he did, holding her small frame tight against him, enveloping all of her in his arms.

When they pulled apart, they were both breathing heavy and their faces were still shiny with tears, now shared. "Come to my house tonight," Jacob said. "I'll take the couch." He didn't want her going back to the Cullens', and it was far too late to wake Charlie.

Bella nodded, "That sounds like a good idea."

For a moment, Jacob and Bella just looked at each other – unmoving – as they each hungrily took in the face they had not seen in a month and never quite like this. After a moment they finally walked back to Angela, who had been sitting patiently on a rock waiting for them the whole time while talking to Ben quietly on her phone. As they slowly walked over, Jacob leaving all of his things to retrieve later if the camping gear was even worth salvaging, Angela looked up and ended her call, sliding the phone into her pocket. She stood up, took in their expressions, turned to Jacob, and in a rather formal tone with a smile said:

"Congratulations, Jacob. You persevered and she came back.

"And congratulations, Bella," Angela added, turning to her best friend with more of a broad grin, "You've moved the Man Who Can't Be Moved."

_**...Gonna camp in my sleeping bag,  
I'm not gonna move.**_

_**

* * *

**_

_A/N II:_

_And so ends The Man Who Can't Be Moved! Did I satisfy you all? I spent over an hour editing the two pages in a math class today by hand, and even then it still took around twenty minutes to just put in the edits having copied and pasted the original O_O … and that's not even thinking about how much time it took to write it the first time... O_O I don't even want to think about that amount!_

_**PROBABLY IMPORTANT UPDATE:** I am writing another Twific/songfic! Will take a while to complete, I've only actually finished the prologue/teaser/something to start with and then have worked out the plot! This time: Talk You Down. Mostly Edward and Bella POVs, but also I'll probably throw in some Renesmee and a little Jacob and some Alice... don't know yet. But I have posted the prologue, it is visible on my profile! And if it isn't there, it's because it's currently 11:30 my time and I need to get this chapter up badly because I swore I would!_

_I have to say before I end the ultra-long author's note- shout-out to Haylie Winchester: when I read your review about Jacob imprinting on Angela, my immediate reaction was "That would be so awesome if I hadn't already written it! UBER-PLOT TWIST!" except, you know, I'd already written it... although I am seriously considering writing an alternative ending where that happens (even though Jacob would have seen Angela at both the wedding and the prom at least). After I finish Talk You Down, though._

_Best wishes and Don't Forget To Be Awesome, you amazing readers who made it this far! You people keep me writing!_

_~Aneko_


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